Strawberry Crop Information

There seems to be conflicting information about this season’s Spanish strawberry crop. On one hand, it is clear that the high temperatures recorded in late 2015/very early 2016 have resulted in around 35-40% of the 300,000MT crop being harvested already, and this has according to some reports, pushed prices downwards by some 15%.

It seems, though, that, despite the earlier unseasonably warm weather, which certainly aided plant and fruit development, the 2016 acreage is 10% less than 2015’s. Early varieties of strawberries, taking advantage of the good weather conditions, are looking assured (both in terms of quality and quantity), but it is the later varieties that are causing worries: temperatures generally declined in late January and this factor will now lead to a delay in their harvest, and this is likely to impact on the industrial processing of strawberries, and quality may be compromised. There is a chance, too, of a lower availability of clarified juices as these require more fruit. But it is still too early to have confirmation of this.

Meanwhile, we are noting that some prices – far from declining – are actually on the move upwards by some 5-7%.

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